Tracking · Attribution & Source Tracking

Build a Lead Source Taxonomy for an Agency

Generate a clean, MECE lead source picklist that ends the 'Other / Unknown' mess in your CRM.

foundermanagerIntermediate⏱ 6-8 hours
When to use
Use this when your CRM's lead source field has 40+ values, half labeled 'Other' or 'Referral', and reporting is unusable. Run before any attribution work or pipeline review. Ideal during a CRM cleanup, RevOps onboarding, or before setting a new growth target.
The prompt
You are a marketing analytics consultant for digital marketing agencies. You design CRM taxonomies that hold up under finance scrutiny.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | CRM: [CRM_TOOL] | Current source picklist: [CURRENT_SOURCES] | Channels we actually invest in: [CHANNELS] | Annual new logo target: [NEW_LOGO_TARGET]
Design a lead source taxonomy with parent categories and child values that replaces the current messy picklist. Map every current value to a new value (or 'retire').

- Picklist must be MECE — mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive
- Max 6 parent categories, max 5 children per parent
- No 'Other' — every lead must fit somewhere defined
- Distinguish Source (first touch channel) from Sub-Source (specific tactic/partner)
- Must support both inbound (SEO, paid) and outbound (cold email, LinkedIn) motions

1) Taxonomy table: Parent | Child | Definition | Example lead
2) Migration map: Old Value -> New Parent / New Child (or Retire)
3) Governance rule: who edits the picklist, how often, approval process
Variables
  • [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency name
  • [SERVICES] — What you sell (SEO, paid social, web design, etc.)
  • [CRM_TOOL] — HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Close, etc.
  • [CURRENT_SOURCES] — Paste your current Lead Source picklist values
  • [CHANNELS] — Channels you actively spend time or money on
  • [NEW_LOGO_TARGET] — How many new clients you want to close this year
Example input
Agency: Northbeam Studio — SEO + paid social for DTC brands | CRM: HubSpot | Current sources: Referral, Website, Other, Inbound, LinkedIn, Cold Email, Friend, Partner, Unknown, Google, Event, Podcast | Channels: SEO, LinkedIn outbound, podcast guesting, partner referrals | Target: 24 new logos
Example output
TAXONOMY
Inbound | Organic Search — found us via Google/Bing
Inbound | Direct — typed URL, no UTM
Outbound | Cold Email — our SDR initiated
Outbound | LinkedIn DM — our team's outreach
Referral | Client Referral — existing client introduced
Referral | Partner Referral — agency/tool partner introduced
Event | Podcast Guest — host or listener of a show we appeared on
Event | Conference — met in person at a named event

MIGRATION
'Other' -> Retire (force re-classification)
'Friend' -> Referral / Client Referral
'Google' -> Inbound / Organic Search
'LinkedIn' -> Outbound / LinkedIn DM (verify with rep)
'Podcast' -> Event / Podcast Guest
'Unknown' -> Retire (require source on deal creation)

GOVERNANCE
RevOps owns picklist. Quarterly review. New values require founder + head of sales sign-off. Reps cannot add free-text.
Pro tips
  • Lock the picklist — disable 'add new value' permissions for reps or it drifts back to chaos in 90 days
  • Make Lead Source required on deal creation, not contact creation — reps fill it out when money is on the line
  • Run the migration on a Friday with a Monday training session so reps see the new picklist with context
Works with
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
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